Perfume Pilgrim

Al Qurashi

For weeks now I have been checking the progress of this new fragrance shop in Knightsbridge. The doors were covered in paper, but tauntingly a sliver of the opulence, chandeliers and glass shelves, were still visible. Finally, they opened their doors three days ago and with excited anticipation I stepped into this Aladdins cave of exotic scents.

This shop exceeded my expectations. In row upon glorious row I peeked into bottles, lingering and deeply inhaling 30 year old vintage ouds, and scents made for royalty. Thick black unguents of musk and ambergris in this bazaar extravaganza. I had brought a guest to accompany me on this journey. She doesn’t even like perfume, nor does she own a bottle. However, today she discovered several scents she liked and vowed to purchase. Having never smelled scents sans alcohol, she thought fragrance gave her a headache, but these oils left her unaffected. While we were there a shop manager from an unamed perfume company confessed her favourites and most recent purchases.

They do some perfume with alcohol too, their Taif Rose one is exquisite, fresh, fruity with luscious blooms. But if you venture here, you can choose from numerous faceted crystal bottles or their standard bottles starting from 3ml and fill them with pungent oils. We were offered a soft couch to sit and discuss our favourites and refresh our noses with coffee beans. The senior sales consultant, Migena is extremely knowledgeable about the ingredients and happily waxes lyrical about the beautiful treasures. Even the names of the perfumes are sheer poetry.

Try their aloes incense, little brown truffles of wood and resins which can be burnt for purification and ambiance. In the glass cabinets there are large chips of oud. I am going back for Al Hay, (life) and at £25 for 3ml I consider this a bargain. The oils are so intense that only a drop on each wrist suffices for the day. But if your wallet is full, try some of the royalty collections at a couple hundred quid and rising. Mind you, the smelling is for free….. Not to be missed are the musks at the back left corner of the shop and the collections of ouds from around the globe.